CHIP ENGLISH/CorrespondentAlabama All-American Terrence Cody signs an autograph on the shirt of Dwight Coburn with the Pensacola man still wearing it on Friday at the Senior Bowl's Meet the Players Day in Mobile.They came with posters, helmets, jerseys, caps, even Bibles. Some of them drove overnight, skipped work or played hooky from school Friday in hopes of meeting their Senior Bowl heroes at the Coca-Cola Meet the Players Day at the Arthur Outlaw Convention Center.

And some of them left disappointed.

Fan favorite Tim Tebow was among four players who could not participate in the autograph session due to illness. Senior Bowl President and CEO Steve Hale said Tebow, Alabama tight end Colin Peek and running back Roy Upchurch and Ohio State defensive back Kurt Coleman were held out of the event by the Senior Bowl's medical staff.

Hale said he could not divulge what illnesses the players have, but did say that Tebow does not have strep throat as some news outlets reported early in the week.

"Our procedure when treating players with illness is the same as it would be in a National Football League game week," Hale said. "Our goal is to have the players ready for Saturday."

Tebow did take part in a team walk-through Friday morning, and Senior Bowl spokesman Kevin McDermond said all four players are still probable for today's game. Senior Bowl Medical Coordinator Dean Kleinschmidt said it was not the players' decision to skip the autograph session.

"He wanted to be here," Kleinschmidt said of Tebow. "If he could be here, he'd be here. But the specialist said, 'Absolutely no way.'"

Many fans in an overflow crowd that Hale estimated at more than 10,000 -- the largest in the event's history -- wore Tebow jerseys or other Florida gear, and some were visibly upset when it was announced shortly after players arrived at 3:30 p.m. that Tebow would not be attending.

"I've been sitting here for eight hours and I just found out about it now," said Ashley McCranie of Orlando, who left Tallahassee at 3 a.m. to get her place in line. "You just don't do that. If he can make it to practice, he can sit and sign. ... I'm going to have somebody sign his name on a helmet."

Other fans were more forgiving. Susan Westerman of Mobile, who has done missionary work in Honduras, Afghanistan and Kenya and has plans to go to Haiti in the next few months, stood in line with a Bible for Tebow to sign.

Cheyanne Lent, a senior at Palm Beach Atlantic University, wore eye black bearing the Bible verse Galatians 2:20 in homage to a well-known Tebow custom. She threw a football with friends in the concourse as she waited after a 10½-hour ride from Palm Beach.

"He's been the perfect example of the type of role model I want to be," said Lent, who has applied to go to the Philippines as part of a mission group organized by Tebow's father.

While the lines for Tebow and Alabama players Terrence Cody, Javier Arenas, Mike Johnson and Leigh Tiffin were the longest, Ian and Emily Keiper found themelves in a much shorter line while waiting to meet players from the Pac-10. Both Birmingham residents wore Oregon jerseys and were looking to meet OU players Ed Dickson and LeGarrette Blount.

"I've been a Ducks fan since I was born," said Ian, who lived in Portland for 21 years before moving to Alabama. "Even back in the day when we were terrible."

Emily, on the other hand, said she is "a fan by marriage."

Some of the players were amazed at the sea of people waiting to greet them. "I really don't think I've seen anything this serious," Tiffin said. "I think it's great. They like you as a player and they come out and support you."

For Auburn defensive end Antonio Coleman, who went to school right across the railroad tracks from Ladd-Peebles Stadium at Williamson High, the day -- and the entire week -- brought him full circle.

"I've seen a lot of people I know," Coleman said. "I used to watch the Senior Bowl when I was little at the Boys and Girls Club. ... When I was young, I didn't expect all this. Now it's here and it's great."